Meno Delle Due Malvagità The Lesser of Two Evils
by VampedVixen
Summary: As Dawn starts to suspect something isn't right with The Immortal and his relationship with Buffy, Spike and Illyria arrive in Rome.


Life had never been the same after the Hellmouth closed. Everything had changed, some for good and some not. One of Dawn's greatest fears had been realized, people she loved and cared about had moved away, yet the world kept on spinning and eventually she came to understand why they needed to be so far away. Though she missed Xander, Willow, Giles and the rest, they all had their individual work to do.

As did she.

Upon finishing high school, in Rome of all places, Dawn would go on to train as a watcher. It was all planned out in her journals, which she had started writing in again. All watchers kept very detailed notes, after all.

Once in Rome, she'd had so much to write about too. Funny stories about trying to learn Italian, doodles with the names of the cute boys from her high school with names like Antonio and Roberto in squiggly hearts and tales about fun trips shopping on the Via del Corso with Buffy.

In those first few months of living there, it was like her sister was a new person, vibrant and excited for life. It seemed to Dawn that Buffy had finally learned how to stand her own without a boyfriend driving her crazy. At least it seemed that way. That is, until the new guy showed up in her life. The Immortal, as he preferred to be called, was everything a girl could ask for: rich, handsome and well, like his name suggested, completely unkillable. Apparently that was a big plus for Buffy, who had a history of having boys die on her.

Dawn didn't trust him though, and had said as much. Not like it mattered to Buffy, who had fallen so deep and so far that she didn't even seem like herself anymore. There was something in the way Buffy looked after coming back from her dates with him, just slightly off-kilter.

"It's just love, Dawnie," Buffy explained the last time Dawn had brought her reservations up in conversations. Her sister hadn't used that tone with her since Dawn was much younger, "One day you'll fall in love and you'll understand how these things work."

That quote had gone into Dawn's journal, in the part where she kept tabs on their relationship. The researcher in her wanted to stick to the facts of this strange development, though the young adult who had already figured out how the world worked was miffed. How could someone talk to her like she was a child, when they were acting like a child themselves? Buffy never called to say she would be late, forgot to make dinner on the few occasions she said she would take care of it, she'd even missed a few important appointments at Dawn's school. The principal there was one step from calling in whatever passed for social services in this foreign country.

Dawn looked up from her research on the latest development on the demon that kept being spotted on the shore of the Tyrrhenian Sea. All thoughts about the sea monster disappeared from her head as she looked at her sister, fresh and ready for yet another date with The Immortal. Keeping her voice cordial, Dawn asked, "Where are you going tonight?"

"Oh, you know Immi," Buffy placed a flower clip in her hair, pinning back her long blond locks. She sauntered over to the table which Dawn's homework and research cluttered. The slayer didn't even pause to wonder about the sea monster Dawn was looking up information on, such thoughts of duty and protection rarely occurred to her these days. "He's always got a surprise planned out for me."

"Yeah, I'll bet," Dawn muttered under her breath. Then louder, she asked, "You do have your cell phone with you though, right? And you have my number on speed dial?" After a pause, she added, "And the number for the police?"

Buffy blinked at her, for a moment giving Dawn a deep recollection of the Buffy-bot. "Why would I need those things? Immi takes care of me." She patted her sister on the head. "Don't worry, Dawnie. He'd never let me get hurt."

The doorbell rang and Buffy hurried off to get it. Dawn sighed as she got up and while Buffy was busy, found her sister's cell phone and placed it secretly into Buffy's purse. She frowned as she listened to Buffy and The Immortal exchange greetings. How her sister could miss the swarmyness in his voice was beyond Dawn's comprehension.

"Hey Dawnie," Buffy called, still using that childish nickname for her. "Have you seen my purse? I just had it a second ago."

Dawn turned around, thrusting the expensive leather purse the Immortal had bought for Buffy into her hands. She nodded, lying, "I just didn't want you to forget it, Buffy."

Buffy smiled, already looking like she was feeling the high The Immortal produced in her. "Someday I'm sure you'll find a nice boy to buy you expensive Prada purses like this one." She threw the strap of the purse over her shoulder and threaded her other arm through The Immortal's outstretched elbow. The touch was like a chain, attaching Buffy to his body. Dawn wondered for a moment if they stayed like that for the entirety of their dates, always connected to one another with Buffy never far from him. Buffy grinned, turning her attention towards him, "Shall we?"

He kissed her hand, ever the gentleman. Then to Dawn, he flashed a dangerous grin only the two of them were aware of, "We'll be out late. Don't wait up."

She crossed her arms, grit her teeth and forced herself to respond, "I have no problem waiting up. You just better make sure she gets back here safely."

"Of course, mi piccolina," He bowed his head as the Italian syllables danced across his tongue. Ushering Buffy out the door, he consented to her sister's wishes, at least for tonight. "Of course."

The door shut in her face while Dawn resisted the urge to cry. She didn't do that anymore, didn't whine or gripe or cry, she was growing up now, an adult who should be able to handle things like this without resorting to emotional storms. Though, all alone in a foreign country, she wasn't sure how she was going to handle this by herself.

Andrew wasn't even around anymore. When the nerdy little boy was there, Dawn at least had someone to talk to. The Immortal wasn't that bad then, hadn't asserted his power quite so much. She and Andrew had figured something was up, but back then it seemed like just normal boy-crazies. Figured that after her only friend here left, things would get worse.

Now she was stuck to handle it alone. Dawn just had to figure out a way how.

* * *

Months had passed since the big battle with the Black Thorn and life, for some, had continued. Spike had found his feet again, surviving the averted apocalypse as he had many others. It was getting to be old hat, a May-time routine.

Ever since that battle which had lost him the few friends he could actually tolerate, Wes and Charlie-boy, he'd been traveling the world with Illyria as his sole companion. After all, someone had to keep up the good fight, now that Angel had run off and gotten himself all Shanshued, leaving the ex-vampire useless, like any other ordinary human. So while the great big poof sat on his butt watching the telly, getting fat on beer and Doritos, Spike and Illyria did what they did best and killed things.

A puff of smoke escaped his lips, tobacco and the salt of the Adriatic Sea intermingling in the air. Meanwhile, he watched Illyria pummel what passed for a vampire in this country. He snorted, the thing lacked all the style and class of the English-type to be sure, but still it put up a remarkable fight. That is, until Blue Thunder stabbed a piece of wooden shipping crate through its unbeating heart. She glanced at Spike, a pleased smile crossing her lips. "Does that even the count, half-breed?"

Spike stubbed the last bit of his cigarette into the ground, rubbing it out with the steel toe of his combat boots. They'd been playing this game since their brief demon-killing spree in Morocco. One point for each vampire, five for a basic demon, ten for any apocalypse they diverted, though they'd failed to meet the latter of those situations yet. "By my count it's still my 164 to your 162." He cocked his head at the newly fallen dust on the cobblestone dock, "163 with that kill."

Illyria crossed her arms, giving him an angry look. The ex-god was still shocked whenever anyone dared to question her, but she let her fury sizzle out of her without resorting to destroying what she now thought of as her new Qwa'ha Xahn. She nearly growled as she walked past him. "If we did not have to listen to your soul's poor excuse for a conscience, my score would be exponentially higher. When I walked the Earth alone, I killed a thousand creatures during each day's journey, regardless of whether they were innocent or not."

Spike laughed as she walked by, never one to stoop to her level. The rules had indeed changed, for both of them. "Was a time, back when I was a big bad, I killed," He tried to do the count in his head, remembering days of pillaging and slaughter, and shrugged "almost as many in a day. Guess we're both working with handicaps." He smiled and shook his head, wondering how he'd managed to get on this side of the good-bad line. Then he looked in the direction Illyria was headed, the direction they had been planning to go after arriving on the cargo ship.

Rome.

Something about the city was calling to him and try as he might, Spike couldn't shake the fact that it was simply his need to see Buffy. To be near her, in her city, even if he didn't actually have the guts to go to her apartment to see her. Following Illyria, he silently thanked fate that there were still a few days to travel before they reached the city limits. By then, perhaps he would know what he was doing there and why he felt compelled to stop by for a visit.

* * *

Dawn sat and watched the clock. It seemed that it was all she ever did each night, waiting for Buffy to return so Dawn would know she was at least alive. She sighed and flicked past one Italian television program after another. When did she turn into the adult of the family? She should be in bed, sleeping off the fatigue and preparing for another day of research duty. Or better yet, at the party Roberto had invited her to, but instead there she sat, waiting to see how much of a toll the night had taken on her sister and whether the slayer had survived another night out with The Immortal.

The apartment door slowly opened, as The Immortal carried Buffy in his arms over the threshold. Too bad he wasn't a vampire, Dawn thought as she watched him, then she could at least do a de-invite spell on the place.

"Shh," The Immortal whispered and Dawn noticed for the first time that Buffy was already sleeping. Her head rested against his chest, sleepily starting to stir as he held her close.

Dawn bit back whatever she was going to say and watched as The Immortal disappeared into Buffy's bedroom. She sat on the edge of the small living room couch, shaking her head. She should do something, anything to get this creep out of their apartment. She'd tried in the past but those were only fruitless attempts since Buffy refused to let Dawn make the rules around this place while she was still paying the rent.

The Immortal reappeared from the bedroom a few minutes later, after tucking Buffy into her bed for the night. "Ah, mi piccolina, you're still awake?" He tried to appear nonchalant, but Dawn was on to him. She knew his kind. She'd been raised on a Hellmouth, after all.

"I was waiting for Buffy to come home," She retorted, careful to rein her tone in. She didn't want him to know she was on to him, not just yet. There needed to be time to formulate a plan, time to figure out what the hell she was going to do about this situation before she acted.

"And now she is." He nodded and walked towards the door, giving Dawn reason to inwardly celebrate, "All tucked in and home safely, as I promised, so I shall be leaving." The Immortal paused at the doorway. Dawn would've said he looked concerned, if she didn't already know he was trying to work them over. "Be sure you lock the door behind me. There are dangerous things out there in the city, little one."

"Yeah," Dawn frowned as the door shut behind him. When she was sure he was out of earshot, she locked the door and replied, "And you're one of them."

* * *

It was late. Dawn knew she should be home, tucked in to wait for the coming morning when all the ghouls and vamps would be back in their crypts. If only she wasn't so pissed, she might actually be there right now. However, The Immortal had come to call for Buffy's attention once again tonight. It was their third date all week, though Buffy had acted like she hadn't seen him in forever.

Dawn clutched the stake in her hand tighter. She wasn't going to make a big deal out of this, wasn't going to bitch and moan and tell her sister that she was out of her mind, even though she clearly was. Neither was Dawn going to complain about the dismissive way the two of them had told her to stay home tonight, like she was some young thing that couldn't take care of herself. No, she was just going to bide her time and find a logical way out of this.

She'd tried calling the others tonight. Giles still wasn't answering his phone. He'd been away on some conference for the past month. Willow had left no forwarding address or phone number the last time she moved. Dawn knew she hadn't gone all Bad Dark Willow again, though until she had confirmation that the witch was okay, she was still worried about that too. Then there was Xander, who was almost never available to be reached by phone, stuck in the African wilds as he was. "Nope," Dawn sighed as she reached the shores of the river, "Looks like I'm in this by myself."

A scuffle up ahead on the shoreline caught Dawn's attention and she shifted into action. Stake drawn up, she reached down into her pockets for the vial of holy water she always kept handy. As she drew nearer to the fray, Dawn watched as a blue haired girl in the strangest club gear held her own against the attacking vampire.

As Dawn observed the girl punching and throwing the taller demon about, it became clear that she had an incredible amount of strength, more strength than any human could possibly possess. Maybe it was just a turf war, Dawn shrugged.

So caught up in the battle, Dawn didn't realize that a vampire had crept up behind her until it was too late. The thing grabbed her around the waist and with it's other hand grasped her neck, pulling her to its fanged mouth. Dawn screamed as she dropped her stake and it clattered to the floor.

"Unhand the Key," The super-strengthened woman spoke in a dead serious tone as she finished dispatching her own enemy and came closer to Dawn's private battle. She spoke to the vampire, giving it a moment of pause, though Dawn was sure it had no intention of stopping completely, "You demon-in-human shell know nothing of its power or magnitude. You are not worthy to look upon such things nor even to lick the ground where it's feet have been."

One moment Dawn could feel the vampire breathing heavily upon her neck but the next it exploded into dust. The teenager exhaled the breath she had been holding as she felt the restraint on her body falling away. Blinking at the woman who was still standing a few feet away from them, Dawn asked incredulously, "Did you do that?"

"No," A familiar English accent answered from behind her. "I did." The world froze as Dawn recognized the voice immediately. It couldn't be possible though. He'd been dead two years now, buried in the rubble of what used to be Sunnydale. Dawn whirled around and the world sped up once more as Spike smirked at her, "Hey, Nibblet."

"Spike? What?! How?!" The questions left her mouth in rapid succession. The previous slow motion had been replace by a sudden mad rush of emotions. "I thought you were dead. I thought-- oh, wow, does Buffy know you're here?"

"Careful, bit," Spike seemed amused by her sudden rush, but still placed a hand on her shoulder before she could ramble off any more questions. "Looks like your eyes are about to jump outta your skull."

The woman Dawn didn't recognize was watching he more closely now, moving close up to inspect her face while Dawn tried to brush her away. Obviously taking Spike's comment literally, the woman commented, "The Key does not need eyes to see, nor legs to walk or lungs to breath. It was here before even the Old Gods and will continue on forever."

Dawn shuddered ever so slightly. Forever was a really long time, she just wanted to get through the week. Moving her attention back to Spike, she said, "Well, I'm sorry, but it's not everyday someone I know comes back from the dead." Then as an afterthought, she added, "Then again, it's not completely uncommon in my life either."

She glanced at Spike, still not quite believing he was there, right in front of her, having this conversation with her. The multitude of question came flooding back to her, "What happened to you anyway? Buffy told me you died a champion, but she wasn't clear on the details."

Spike rested his elbows on the railing of the bridge, overlooking the calm waters. As moonlight fell across his face, Spike seemed distant. After a moment of silence, he summed it all up quickly in a forced jovial tone, "Destroyed the school. Closed the Hellmouth. Went up in a blaze of flaming glory; not something I'd recommend by the way. I got better though.. woke up in Angel's office and things continued downhill from there." Spike paused and Dawn could feel his eyes on her, "I've missed you, Pet."

Dawn hoisted herself up on the stone railing off the bridge, swinging her feet and took a deep breath. Then she continued with truth born out of her new maturity. "You know, it took me a while to forgive you to what you did to Buffy." She gave a half-hearted laugh, "And then I was angry at you for dying and leaving us alone. But after thinking about how you saved the potentials.. and the world.. and Buffy, nothing else mattered. I'm just glad to see you now."

Silence fell between them once more while old memories were sorted through and those that hurt too much discarded. Breaking the mellow mood, Dawn crossed her arms and mockingly accused, "I'm still pissed at you for destroying the mall though."

"What did I tell you?" Spike wagged his eyebrows at her, "I'm evil, through and through."

"At least you're not as evil as The Immortal," Dawn frowned. "You weren't always great for Buffy, but at least you didn't try brainwashing her.. or whatever he's doing to her."

That caught his attention, throwing him in to the old familiar protector role. "Is he making trouble for you?"

Dawn inwardly sighed in relief; the calvary had finally arrived. Somehow tonight, she had wound up in exactly the place she needed to be. Her words came rushing out, finally finding an audience who had the power to help her, "Oh, Spike, she's not herself at all. Half the time she's with him and completely forgetting I exist, the other half, she walks around looking stoned. She says its just that she's fallen in love, but I know something else is going on. She was fine until he showed up, now she's even forgetting about her slayer duties."

"Which is, I take it, how you wound up here tonight with that vamp trying to take a nibble?" Spike's tone betrayed his worry and disapproval. He had always treated her like an adult but there were still some things better left to the slayer. "Trying to fill big sis' britches?"

"Somebody has to," Dawn rolled her eyes and then looked down at her feet as she stopped swinging them. "Look, Spike, I know you and Buffy had your issues, but you still understand her more than most. I know you'd be able to reach her." Dawn could see the storm that was brewing just under the surface for Spike. Reluctance mixed with desire, fear with longing. "Please, Spike, I have no one else to help me."

"Really worried about her, aren't you, Nibblet?" Spike asked, knowing full well the answer; this was serious. Dawn tried to hide her 'duh' face. "Don't know how much help I can be in your corner. She probably doesn't want to see me," he warned. Dawn wondered if this was just a stalling tactic. After all, even after everything, Buffy still thought of him as a champion. When Dawn didn't back down after hearing his lack of confidence, Spike shrugged, "But if you need help, I'm your man."

Dawn jumped up, her enthusiasm seemingly harking back to her origins as a big ball of energy. "Great! Come on, Spike." She grabbed his hand and started pulling him to the street that led to her apartment.

"I will use my power to help the Key as well." The woman spoke with clear determination as she followed the two of them. "I will mutilate this Immortal, make it whimper like the weakling it is for daring to work against the Key."

In all their catching up, Dawn had forgotten the woman was even there until she barged into the conversation again. "Not that I don't appreciate the offer but," she turned to Spike, jutting her thumb at the woman. "Who is that? And why does she keep calling me the Key? Doesn't she know how to keep a secret?"

"That's Illyria. Yet another ex-god with a huge ego."

"Like Glory?"

"Minus the shoe fetish," Spike agreed. "Seems to know you from back in the prehistoric day. She's usually not this chummy with folks."

"Lucky me," Dawn nodded, though she felt more bewildered that lucky. She glanced at Illyria, the ex-god seemed to know more about the Key than anyone Dawn had ever met or any book she'd ever come across in her junior watcher research days. She could unlock Dawn's past, answer all the questions the teenager could ask.

Dawn gave that prospect some careful thought but then shook her head. Whatever came before didn't matter now. She was Dawn Summers, daughter of the loved but departed Joyce Summers and sister to Buffy and that was good enough for her.

* * *

The apartment smelled of Buffy, of course there was the familiar scent of Dawn in there as well, but the first thing that hit Spike upon entering their abode was the Buffy-smell. They were there to look for evidence, possibly some leads on this Immortal bloke, but her aroma, even hours after she had been home, was intoxicating. Drunk on the old familiar scent of her favorite peaches and cream shampoo, sweet slayer sweat, power and sunlight, Spike couldn't concentrate.

Hell, he couldn't even walk the first time it hit him, making him freeze in the doorway and flashback to a happier time. Memories of her and him, a hundred different positions and a silver pair of handcuffs filled his mind. Then, he looked at the Nibblet. She was starring at him, probably wondering if he had suddenly lost his mind so dazed as he was. "I'm fine, bit. Just.."

"It's okay," Dawn cautiously shut the door behind them. "I get it. You miss her."

"Haven't been around her in years," He moved past Buffy's bedroom, looking in and half wishing she was here now and thanking fate that she wasn't. "Dreamt of her though. Every night. Still wasn't nearly the same as being here, so close to her. It does things to a man."

"You lower beings put such stock in old memories," Illyria said as she busied herself by the table full of Dawn's cluttered research on the sea monster that had been spotted off the coastline. "You seek to cling to dreams that have gathered dust and fallen to ash. No wonder you don't last long."

Spike shook his head and shoved his feelings aside. For an egotistical god without a kingdom, Illyria was right. He couldn't feel these feelings anymore, the longing and need, not after everything that had happened between the Slayer and him. Besides, he wasn't a man, wasn't the one who got all Shanshued after all. The Powers had spoken; he would always be something less.

Dawn simply nodded, sidestepping the issue and giving Spike some room with his past as she went to retrieve a few books from Buffy's room. Returning to the living room, she sat with Spike on the expensive Italian leather sofas, yet another extravagant gift from the man they were now researching.

She put a small black book on the coffee table and explained, "It's Buffy's address book. I think it has some contact info on the Immortal." She held up another book, this one dark purple, "And I also have her diary, which probably has some background info on the Immortal and what they've been doing together these past few weeks."

Spike gave her a sideways glance, "Really think we should be going through big sis' stuff like this?"

Dawn rolled her eyes, "Geez, when did you decide to grow a conscious?" Spike nearly growled at her reply, he hadn't lost that much of his edge, just didn't want to deal with a pissed off Slayer. "Besides," she continued, "This is part of what makes being the little sister so great. We're expected to do this kind of thing. At least it'll be more interesting this time than when I was reading her tales of Angel and their 'destined true love'." She gave a laugh, obviously as disinterested with those two as Spike had been.

"You sneaky little platelet," Spike smiled as the two of them began looking over the information Dawn had found. As she read the diary entries aloud, the tale it was beginning to tell was more than a little disheartening. The more time that passed, the crazier Buffy began to sound until eventually she didn't sound like herself at all. At first Buffy just mentioned Immi, as she called him, in amongst the other things that made up her daily life. Then, little by little, she began writing more and more about him, falling head over heals and oddly obsessive over this man she still knew very little about.

For almost an hour, all was quiet as Dawn and Spike found themselves in the middle of a mystery they still could not figure out. They had few answers to Buffy's questionable behavior even now, though they had at least managed to find an address for the Immortal.

Illyria spent much of this time on a different mystery, the one Dawn had been previously engaged with. Suddenly, the ex-god stood and placed her hands on the drawing of the sea monster one of Dawn's eye-witnesses had made. "I have put together the puzzle, sorted the pieces until they fit into their rightful place."

This got Dawn and Spike's attention, as they both turned to her with equally questioning looks. Finally, the vampire asked, "What are you going on about, Blue?"

"The truth which you have failed to see. The problem lies within that which you have no time to acknowledge." She crossed the room while both of them watched her, "Why do you busy yourselves with what is so plainly of no consequence? The Immortal is a lesser being, kicked out of the holy order and meanstwhile, Old Gods have returned once more."

They starred at her as if she had grown another head. Though, that would have made more sense than how she was acting now. Illyria drew two fists and slammed out the door, not bothering to wait for them to understand her ramblings.

Slowly, Dawn asked, "Um.. what was that about?"

"Of all the crazy women in my undead life," Spike answered with a shrug, "Illyria is the one I understand the least."

They had no time to continue their research, since a moment later a rather ragged looking Buffy barged through the apartment door. "Dawn," she cried, for the moment not even seeing Spike on the couch, "Dawn, who was that who just left the apartment? Are you okay?"

When Buffy saw that Dawn was sitting on the couch, the Slayer's careful gaze traveled over to the vampire next to her sister. Their eyes met and the world fell off-kilter. She shook her head in disbelief, "Spike?" Buffy put a hand to her mouth and then to her chest, "Spike?! What? What are you doing here? Why aren't you--"

"Buried where you left me? The amulet somehow fixed that." Spike stood, feeling a rather strong urge to leave all of a sudden. Still, he stayed in order to try to put things right, like he had promised Dawn. "Look, the bit was worried about you. Said you got in over your pretty little blond head over some bloke. Figured I might be of some service here, help you get back to being yourself."

All the worry for Dawn and the shock at seeing Spike left her at these words, falling away until all that remained was one pissed off Slayer. "You mean Immi? What, did you think, after two years of being gone that you would come here and take me away from him? Did you think that soul and your dying meant anything to me? You know what, Spike, get out of my apartment." He was about to react to this, about to scream at her for acting crazy but Buffy cut him off, "Now!"

Spike laughed to himself. He knew coming here was a bad idea from the beginning, could feel it in his gut. Thing was though, when it came to Buffy, he rarely listened to his instincts, "Fine. Don't want my help, I'll leave. Easy as that."

"Good."

"Fine!" He growled deep in his throat, yanking open the door and making for the exit.

* * *

Dawn watched as the two of them went at it, disrupting right before her eyes. "Buffy.. Spike.." She tried to catch him just before he left, but he shook her off. "Please, guys.." She sighed and the door shut on her face, leaving her standing alone with her sister. "Did you have to do that?"

"Did you have to go through my diary?" Buffy shot back, holding up the purple book with a deep scowl. "You had no right to do that. I can't believe--"

"You can't believe, what? That I would try to figure out what the hell is going on with you when you're acting so completely self-absorbed lately? I mean, come on, Buffy, is this guy worth what you're doing to yourself, what you're doing to me?"

"He's everything I have right now, Dawnie," Buffy said sadly as she dropped to the couch. Her voice held a listless tone that worried Dawn even more, "I don't understand why you can't just let us be happy. He's all I want, Dawnie. Everything."

Dawn held back on her tears, finally having heard the answer she dreaded but knew had to come. "Everything, huh? So I guess I don't count?" When her sister didn't reply, Dawn made for the exit. It was then that Buffy started calling after her, asking her to come back but Dawn was already gone, heading out to find Spike.

Dawn ran until she spotted him, not that far away from the apartment building. Rushing over to him, she latched onto his arm, halting him in his tracks. "Please, Spike, don't leave." She could feel the tears coming now and cursed herself for breaking down in front of him. "I need your help. Can't you just go back in and apologize--"

"To that bird? Oh, you're out of your mind." Spike detached himself from her. He stopped before he could yell at her, before he could tell her it was all pointless and she was barking up the wrong tree. Instead he told her, "I know you're worried about her, Dawn, but I can't help if she doesn't want me to. Call Giles or that Xander whelp."

"I've tried them," Dawn grit her teeth, why was no one listening to her. She needed help and no one was doing any helping. "I can't reach them. But you're here and you could help if you just--"

"Look, sorry, bit." Spike told her pointblank, "But this is my stop and I'm getting off."

She watched angrily as he walked off into the night, leaving her no room to follow. She'd been so close to getting somewhere with Buffy. She'd heard the cavalry arrive, could still picture Spike saying the right words to get her to snap out of it. But there he went, off into the night as she rubbed tears away from her face in annoyance. Under her breath, she muttered, "Coward."

* * *

Dawn hadn't seen Spike for the past few days. He was probably too busy nursing his wounds, she mused. She still couldn't believe he had just left like that, after promising to help her and delivering nothing in regards to that promise. She hadn't spoke to Buffy since that confrontation. It was like they were living in two separate worlds.

Tonight, her sister had left on yet another date with The Immortal. She didn't even tell Dawn she was going out, leaving without saying a word. Dawn wasted no time that night before heading to the streets. It had become a ritual for her, some way to clear her mind. Whenever she didn't want to think about what her sister was doing, she went out slaying. She wondered just how far she had gotten from those self-destructive middle school days, but at least if she died it would be for a good cause. Apparently, that was one thing she had learned from her sister.

Hearing a woman screaming from the alleyway that ran between two stone buildings, Dawn jumped into action. "Hold on, I'm coming," She muttered and reached for her self-carved stake. "I may not be a slayer but I still know how to handle one of these."

After reaching the end of the alleyway, Dawn knew she had made a wrong decision. There was no screaming woman, just a bunch of cloak and dagger types. One of them stepped forward as the rest circled around her, "The Key has come to free the beast. Spill none of her blood until the ritual."

"Key?" Dawn yelped as she swung at the first who neared her. This wasn't even a fair fight, she was outnumbered and outmaneuvered. Still, she'd fight as long as she could. "Would it help if I told you I didn't know what you were talking about?"

"Liar." The leader stepped forward, holding a glowing ring, "The Stone of Persephone has spoken. You are the chosen one, the one that will usher in a new era of glory for Nereus."

"Great," Dawn said as one of them hit her on the head and her feet fell out from under her, "I always wanted to be a Chosen One." She was losing consciousness as one robed figured picked her up. "It's.. not quite.. as advertised.."

* * *

Spike noticed the abandoned wooden stake while wandering past the apartment building that houses the Summers' residence. He still didn't know why he'd been there in the first place, crawling back to Buffy as if he didn't have better things to do than lose even more of his dignity to that bint of a slayer. However, after enough whiskey to make him lose his vampire constitution it had seemed like the next logical step.

He bent down to retrieve the stake. It was just like Buffy used to make, hand-carved out of a table leg with the initials D.S. painted on it with what looked to be sparkley red nail polish. One guess who it belonged to. She wasn't the type to leave her toys lying about either. He glanced down the ransacked alleyway, the smell of fear was still about. Dawn had been there, he was sure of it. Spike was also sure that wherever Dawn was now, it was not a place she wanted to be.

"Bloody hell! Why do Summers' women find it so bloody easy to get into trouble?" He was beginning to sober up, feeling the grip of new worry as it seized him. Intent on finding whoever took her and making them pay until they cried for mercy. Luckily, he knew just where to start the search.

* * *

The vampire spotted his old rival and new enemy in the middle of the crowded club, partying the night away without a care in the world and Buffy in his arms. This was the third place Spike had been tonight, one of the Immortal's regular places though the ponce had so many. The vampire's frustration had grown with each failed search until it nearly boiled over once he had his prey in sight.

Spike moved amongst the dancers, silently stalking his prey, reading to make the first move. If the worry over Dawn wasn't enough to make him want to pounce on the guy and beat the bloody hell out of him, the jealousy at watching the Immortal and Buffy twist around each other, pushing against each other's bodies to the slow hypnotic music was enough to send Spike over the edge.

He pushed forward, weaving through the crowd until he was behind the Immortal. Grabbing the other man by the arm, Spike yanked him around until they were face to face. Spike dug his fingers into the Immortal's neck, pleased with the shocked look in his eyes as he gasped and pleaded for air.

"Need to talk to you," Spike growled over the music. Pulling the Immortal out the back door and into the empty alleyway. The slayer followed looking less than pleased but Spike paid her little attention as she began screaming at him.

"Who are you?" The Immortal asked as he was shoved against the brick of the building wall.

"Where is she?" Spike shouted, wasting no time answering questions. He felt his face change, growing fangs and forehead ridges. "If you've hurt her, for the rest of your immortal days you're going to wish you could die."

"A vampire," He showed no fear, even with Spike holding him against the wall, the vampire's fangs only inches away from his throat. At most he seemed surprised by the sudden intrusion on his time, "What could I have done to have earned this fury?"

"Oh, let's think, shall we?" Spike gave an exasperated laugh, throwing his hands up into the air. Buffy stood beside them, trying to edge her way into the fight and protect her new lover. Spike was having none of that though. Pushing the slayer away, he picked the Immortal up by the lapels of his fancy suit jacket. "First you brainwash Buffy into acting like a brain-dead, lovesick bitch and now--"

"Spike, he did no such thing," Buffy yelled and ripped Spike away from the fray. As The Immoral slid down the wall, coming to rest on the floor, the slayer threw a solid punch at Spike. "Just where do you get off barging in here, accusing my love of such ridiculous lies? Immi would never do that. He loves me. He treats me like a lady and would never hurt me." Buffy shot an accusatory finger at him, "Unlike you."

Spike stood there, with all of the fight knocked out of him. There was nothing he could say to that. Nothing that would make up for the rocky past and worlds of hurt between them. He sighed, "Look, Buffy--"

"He's right," The Immortal cut in, causing both of them to look at him. He held a hand to his temple, massaging away what looking like bucketfuls of remorse. Brushing himself off, the Immortal tried to make himself look presentable after the previous fight. "Mi amore.. Buffy," he swallowed, squinting at her guiltily and continued, "I have, how you say, a gift that's also my curse. The power of seduction. I did not mean to use it on you, but before either of us knew it, I had attracted you and caught you in my little web. I was attracted to you before I knew it and feared your desertion, as you are such a rare and beauteous flower but I release you now, my rose. I only hope you will continue to adore me as I do adore you."

"Oh, this is rich," Spike grinned. Somewhere deep inside, he felt himself forgive Drusilla for getting mixed up with this man decades earlier. "Can't wait to see how hard she kicks your ass."

As if on cue, Buffy stepped forward, still appearing a bit dazed from the new reality setting in. Without warning, she delivered a powerful kick to the Immortal's groin. He clutched at the area, a small moan escaping his lips and bent forward.

"I think you made her mad," Spike smirked at him as he hovered above the Immortal with Buffy right beside him. "Really wouldn't want to be you right now."

"You put those thoughts in my mind," Buffy shook her head, trying to clear the rush of images and left over thoughts that had been planted there. "You son of a bitch!"

"Buffy, before you knock Mr. Can't-Get-A-Date-Without-A-Love-Spell unconscious, and boy am I going to enjoy that," Spike put a hand on her shoulder, drawing Buffy's attention away. As the Immortal tried to recover and prepare for what promised to be one entirely long session of ass-kicking, Spike spoke, "We've got bigger problems. Dawn. Wanker here did something to her. We were researching him--"

"Reading my diary," Buffy cut in with a deep scowl.

"And that." Spike nodded with a smirk, "Then suddenly she goes missing. Found her stake three blocks from your apartment. Funny how that happened to her right after we were getting close to finding out what he was up to."

That threw Buffy into full kick-ass mode. As the Immortal threw his hands into the air to protect his face, she grabbed his wrist. Twisting, she moved behind him until his arm was pinned to his back and he couldn't escape. Seething in his ear, Buffy asked him, "What did you do to my sister?"

"Buffy," The Immortal spoke through the pain, "I never touched the little one. I swear it. I don't know what the vampire is talking about."

"The hell you don't," Spike replied, "I saw it with my own eyes. Alleyway completely ransacked, smell of Dawn's fear in the air-- hit him again Buffy, he's obviously lying."

"No," Buffy let go of his arm. "He's lied to me long enough. I know the difference by now." She suddenly looked lost, "But that means Dawn's still out there and still in trouble.. or worse." She couldn't say it, couldn't give words to the deep fear growing within her. Spike knew what she was thinking though, had thought it himself in fact. Dawn might not be alive anymore. Another hole could have opened up in the world, creating yet another void in the world.

* * *

"This is my fault," Buffy said softly as she inspected the crime scene. They still had only a few leads to go on; only the stake found in the alleyway and the bag Buffy found in the street that had belonged to Dawn. Who had taken her remained a mystery, along with where they had taken her. "She could be halfway to Bangladesh by now or lying in a ditch somewhere or--"

"Buffy." Gone were the pet names he had once called her by but even her name on his lips angered Spike. It was the name of a warrior, a slayer, not fit for the tongue of such a deceitful, lying wanker. The only reason they had agreed to bring him along was his connections in that city, they ran deep and were exceedingly numerous. The Immortal spoke again in regretful tones as he surveyed the scene, "Dios mio, if I had but known. I take full responsibility for this."

"You'd better," Spike said from where he was inspecting the tracks in the dirt. He could make out a few sneaker prints, but there were too many to figure out where each one had gone. "If you hadn't been playing around in Buffy's head, this never would have happened." He stood, trying to reign in his hatred for the man who stood before him but finding that task nearly impossible. "Dawn would have been safe and we wouldn't be playing 'Where's Waldo' in the middle of the night in this hellhole of a foreign city."

"Spike. This isn't the time." Buffy stepped in between the two of them, just as the vampire was getting ready for another fight. Cutting through the bull, she started getting down to the bulk of the plan. "Dawn's in trouble. We need to stop arguing about who's fault it is and find her before whoever took her does anything else. I found this," She produced a silver amulet that hung on a black cord. Two twin snakes were curled around the letter N. "Either of you know where this might have come from?"

Spike studied it, but couldn't say much more on the topic. The Immortal was able to produce some knowledge, however. "It looks like a pendant from the Nereus' cult. They were much bigger in Rome a few years ago. I knew their hideout years ago, they threw magnificent parties." He paused as a frown crossed his face, "But I am not sure they are still there. There were rumors that the Carabineri were to shut them down and torch their lair. I could get better information from my informants."

Buffy nodded, her mind setting up the plan as she spoke, "Okay, we'll split up then. I'll go with The Immortal to talk to the locals and Spike, you head out to where the Immortal thinks they used to be."

"Yeah, sure," Spike rolled his eyes at her. "You go with the one we can't trust while I go do all the dirty work. Are you sure you're not still under his spell?" He tilted his head at her, trying to discern the look in her eyes and whether or not that look was a sober one. All he got was an angry glare in reply. "Okay, fine, I'm going. Just tell me where it is."

* * *

The directions the Immortal had given him led to a building at the edge of the river, an old shipping warehouse if Spike figured it correctly. He wandered into the back of the warehouse, remarking to himself how young cults always chose the most dingiest of places to hang out in. Not that he was much better, since his last residence had been a crypt in the middle of the Sunnydale graveyard, but at least something about that had been classic. This place though, with it's broken windows and boarded up doors was nothing more than run down.

Still, as he noticed the one dock that led straight into the Tiber and was decorated with an elaborate alter, there was no mistaking that they had been there recently. Spike whispered to himself, "this looks to be the place." He turned back to building. When he'd searching around it, Spike hadn't noticed any entranceway. "Now how to get in and meet the locals?"

As if on cue, three robe-clad humans stepped out from the shadows. They all wore pendants similar to the one Buffy had found in the alleyway. "Well, that solves that problem," Spike muttered as they came closer. One held a glowing ball of red energy while the other two flanked him with swords held at the ready. The Immortal had warned him not to be taken in by the fact that they were human, they still contained great power. Nevertheless, being the impetuous vampire that he was, Spike took a step closer and within seconds was surrounded by the glowing energy. The fight ended quicker than it had even begun.

* * *

Still blindfolded, Dawn was unaware of how long passed each time one of her captives entered her cell. They'd come in to feed her or make her drink some kind of herbal drink that was supposed to be good for those about to be sacrificed to the dark gods. She'd spit it out the first few times, receiving only a slap across the face in return. They barely spoke to her, never told her what was going on or what would happen to her, just hit her if she went against their wishes.

She pulled at her chains that held her in place, each metal bracelet attaching her securely to the wall. They didn't even budge but there was nothing else she could do to control the panic that sat in the pit of her stomach.

The door opened, the same metal clank she'd heard before. Each time one of them came in could be the last, Dawn was unsure of when they would use her key-energy-filled blood for their purposes, whatever those purposes were. Someone entered the cell with her, their presence lingering over her. Even blindfolded, she could feel them hovering over her, waiting to do whatever they wanted to her.

Screaming, she kicked at the figure, hoping to at least inflict some violence before they got their wishes. She made a solid kick to one of its calves but it only muttered out a familiar, "Bloody hell. Not fair attacking your rescuer."

"Spike?!"

The presence knelt besides her, taking off the blindfold. As the darkness gave way to clear vision, he smirked at her, "Ta da!" He went to work on the chains that held her to the wall. "Figured I would let them capture me just so I could find out where you were."

Dawn gave a half-hearted laugh, "They caught you too, huh?"

Spike sighed with a bit of defense in his voice, "Well, I was outnumbered. And they had magicks. Big , powerful magicks. Tossed some energy thing at me that put me at their mercy, made me do whatever they wanted." Dawn heard him add a muttered, "Much like being in love with Buffy." Then louder he continued, "Thankfully, it wore off. Couldn't take much more of their games."

The chains snapped under the vampire's strength, breaking off the wall but remaining attached to Dawn's wrists. At least she could move now. "Buffy's coming with back up but its no use waiting for her. Let's say you and me get out of this together."

"Oh, hell yes!" Dawn wasted no time getting to her feet as soon as Spike broke off her chains. "The only problem is that door. No chance you're strong enough to knock it off its hinges?"

"Nope," Spike shook his head as he examined the door. "Solid steel, a foot wide. I couldn't budge it." He paused to think the situation through. "But I've got another plan."

* * *

More waiting followed but it was different this time. With the blindfold gone, Dawn no longer had to fear the unseen. If anyone was going to attack her, she'd be prepared. Plus, with Spike there she knew she would be safe. The summer that Buffy had died, he told her of his promise, to protect Dawn till the end of the world. Somehow, she knew he would always keep it, if not for Buffy's sake then for her own.

To pass the time, Spike had told her everything that happened while she had been held captive, starting with The Immortal's love spell and ending with the fight that had gotten him captured. She was still mulling it over in her head, trying to figure out who to blame for this whole debacle.

"So, he's not evil?" She mused, "He just has like an extremely high charisma attribute?" She received a questioning look from Spike from where he sat against the wall. Dawn laughed at her obvious slip into geekdom. "I must have RPGed far too much with Andrew while he was still living with us. He's rubbed off on me."

"Least he never made you play an Ork." Spike said as he let go of his own deep, dark secret. He rubbed his chin, trying to appear as handsome as he could. It wasn't that hard of an impression to pull off. "Told him I was far too good looking to play one, but did he listen?"

There were no walls between them now, just as it had been before Spike and Buffy had their falling out a few years ago. By luck and perseverance, they had made it through the changes life had thrown towards their friendship, arriving in a place where they could be themselves again and trust each other again. Dawn was glad, even at her angriest she had missed his companionship. He was the only one who ever talked to her on the same level, the only one who could see through the smoke and mirrors she sometimes put up.

She heard a guard coming down the hall and the door started opening. It had been a while since anyone had come to check on her, they probably needed to chant something or use some other mumbo-jumbo on her in order to prepare her for the upcoming ritual. Moving into position on the floor, Dawn played the part of the helpless vampire victim. It was all part of Spike's plan, which hopefully would work to get them out of there. Before she closed her eyes completely, Dawn asked, "Ready?"

"Always," He replied, standing across from the door so that he could meet their captor head on. "Now go back to playing dead, like a nice little girl." Dawn could tell he was burning for a fight, ever fiber of his body tense and ready to spring. Still, they couldn't move too fast, had to play by the rules of the game and go by the plan.

The door swung open, pouring light into the dark cell. One robed figure stepped forward, holding the ball of energy out in front of him. "Back, beast! Or else I'll make you my puppet like I did before." Spike raised his eyebrows but obliged, moving to one side of the room so the guard could get a better look at the supposedly dead human lying across the floor. That caught the guard's attention, causing him to gasp, "What have you done, filthy ingrate?! We needed her to be pure!"

"What can I say?" Spike answered, "Got hungry. And she was such a tasty little morsel."

The guard knelt down besides Dawn, his attention growing unfocused as he lost the ability to maintain the energy ball. He lifted Dawn's neck, checking for spots where the vampire had bitten her. "She must live. We need her for the ritual." His voice fell away as he found no evidence of violence. There was no blood, no bite marks and what surprised him even more was the fact that her pulse was strong and steady. "What is this?"

Jumping awake, Dawn flicked her eyes open and starred up at him. "Surprise!" Before the guard could react, she lifted one of her wrists. The metal cuff was still attached to it, the piece that Spike was not able to break off. She slammed it into the guard's head with all the force and strength that she possibly could, knocking him out in one easy maneuver. As she untangled herself from the guard and stood up, she brushed herself off and kicked him once for good measure. "Jerk."

"Nice job, platelet," Spike said. As he started for the door, he stepped over the guard's unconscious body. "You learn that from Buffy?"

"It must just come naturally to us Summers' women," Dawn surged with pride at Spike's words. No more did she have to rely solely on others to take care of her, she'd been learning and training, preparing for the moment she took her place as a champion. After giving her handiwork one more glance, she headed out into the hallway.

* * *

The warehouse was a maze of doors and hallways, leading into each other and driving Spike and Dawn further away from their cell but no closer to finding the exit. Spike couldn't help wondering when Dawn had grown up. Sure, he had never treated her like a kid, never really thought of one either. Nevertheless, the way she handled the guard gave him a new respect for her skills. They'd grown stronger since Sunnydale.

"Spike," Dawn nudged him in the ribs. "Look."

He stopped pondering her inevitable maturity and followed her gaze. The hallways they had been following had led out onto the second floor of an atrium. They were now overlooking a gathering of the robed figures as they chanted to their god. Something about 'Nereus.. lord of all and highest of the mighty'. Basic cultist sheep bleating. If Spike had encountered a few different cults in his time and if he knew anything it was that they were all the same.

"That must be the leader," Dawn spoke in hushed tones, careful to keep her voice out of earshot from the group below. The man she was speaking of stood on a dais, a little higher than the bottom floor. He waved his hands over the crowd and they stopped, shutting up so he could talk.

"Those who have joined together here, near the river that the mightiest has chosen as his own, they will soon be rewarded for their loyalty. After we sacrifice the key, our god shall rise from the depths and devour the city that has turned its back on us." He raised his hands again and a cheer arose from the crowd, jubilant and eager to give their god the blood sacrifice they believed it required. "Go fetch me the Key and we will put an end to--"

"Sire," a voice called from the side of the throng of people. The timid sound came again as Spike searched his field of view for the speaker, "Sire, there appears to be a problem."

The leader stopped his speech and looked at the one who had dared to interrupt them. Whether the anger that shown in his face was because of the apparent problem or because someone had dared to interrupt him, Spike couldn't tell. Probably a little of each. "What.. 'problem' would that be?"

"The Key. It has escaped, sire."

The order of the crowd was lost, giving way to chaos as the leader grew red in the face. People were beginning to scatter, coming to look them without even having to be given orders first. They knew what the leader wanted, knew the sacrifice couldn't be halted. Calling to his people, the leader yelled, "Find her! Wherever she is! I want every inch of this place combed until the girl is caught!"

"Uh-oh," Dawn breathed, reaching for Spike's hand as she stepped back away from the balcony. She started heading down another corridor, with Spike following close behind.

They needed to leave. Now.

"Looks like they figured out our dastardly plan, eh?" Spike cocked his head towards her. He was ready for this, still feeling the need for a fight in his veins. Looking at Dawn though, Spike knew there were more important things to take care of first though. The girl needed to be kept safe. Maybe there would be time for ass kicking later. "Who'd of thought those guards were smart enough to find us out so quickly?"

The first hallway they chose ended in a dead end, causing Dawn to whirl around and curse under her breath. "Who the hell designed this building? It just goes in circles." By the time they had turned around however, they had been cornered by a half dozen robed figures. "Spike? What do we do now?"

He heard her call to him but her voice sounded like it was coming from miles away. The glowing energy had already surrounded his body, cast by a spell one of the guards had just performed. _Not now_, he told his unwilling body as it failed to cooperate, _can't let them hurt the girl. Can't let them hurt Dawn!_

His mind sent words to his mouth, telling Dawn to get out of there, to save herself, that he was sorry for whatever they would try to get him to do to her. His mouth refused to voice those words though, remaining frozen in place like the rest of his body. He hated feeling helpless like this, unable to beat the hell out of those who were threatening them.

"Spike?" Dawn called, her voice drowning out in his muddled mind. "Spike, please, snap out of it."

He felt something snap within in, shaken from her words and the scared tone in her voice. A migraine started within his brain, dropping him to his knees as he held the temples of his head to keep his brain from together since it seemed like it would explode any moment. "LET ME, GO!!"

The words came out in a startled screaming, as he willed his mouth to work again. He wasn't going to stand by and let them hurt her while he was still there. No matter what spells they tossed at him, no matter their power, he just would not let them hurt Dawn.

At the sight of their failed spell, the guards started backing away. Meanwhile, Dawn knelt besides Spike, holding a hand to his face so he would look at her. She spoke clear words now, unfiltered by any magick, "Are you okay?"

"If you are, then I am." It was simple. Honest. He stumbled to his feet, still feeling a little wobbly from the effects of their failed effort to control him. She put an arm around him as they watched the guards retreat.

The guards were doing a good job at running away like cowards until they stopped a few feet down the hallway. One by one, they began to fall down, knocked out by a very pissed off slayer and The Immortal, who had finally chosen to get his hands dirty with the fight. A few moments later, Buffy and The Immortal stood within a pile of scattered unconscious bodies. "Nobody messes with my sister."

Those were the words Dawn was waiting for, Spike knew. He let her go, steady again in his own skin. As his Nibblet ran to her sister, each of them wrapping their arms around the other, the world began to pull itself back together again.

* * *

Everything that had transpired between Dawn and her sister was forgotten the moment she saved both her and Spike. All the hurtful words and forgetting her sister had done had been part of the spell The Immortal had placed on her anyway. Dawn could forgive that. After all, they had gotten into bigger fights before, ones that didn't have the benefit of being waved away with an it-was-because-I-was-under-a-spell excuse.

As they made their way through the warehouse, heading down the steps to the bottom floor where only a few members of the crowd remained, Dawn glanced over to the Immortal. She couldn't bring herself to completely trust him or to vilify him either. Redemption was a funny thing. Dawn wasn't sure if it was fair to allow it to some people and not to others. Time would tell whether he remained in their lives, however.

Buffy was making great headway clearing a path for them to follow. A kick here, a few punches there and Dawn had little to fear from these wanna-be sorcerers. They were only human, after all. Her sister had dealt with great obstacles, had faced down a few apocalypses too. For some reason, she seemed immune to their magic. Dawn chalked it up to the being-the-slayer thing. "Come on, this way," Buffy ushered them down the stairs that led to the bottom floor.

A few guards were left on the floor, making sure the exit out of the warehouse was blocked off. One of them stepped saw the group and stepped forward, meeting Buffy head on. The slayer frowned, "I'm getting really tired of you freaks!"

The opponents stepped closer, each sizing up the other's moves before jumping into the fray. Buffy lunged forward, landing a solid kick and knocking the guard to the floor. Before he could react, a figure of blue and leather steeped up the dais. In her hand, she held the head of what looked like a man with skin that shimmered like water.

"I have slaughtered the old god you call Nereus." Illyria spoke to all those who would listen. An audible gasp fell over the cult, as their god's head hung from it's hair in her grasp. The wound at its neck steamed and hissed like it was on fire. "I knew him when he was little more than atoms coming to form a single creature, pieces of dirt forming flesh and the sea giving life to such a failed king of the ocean waves. He was weak, as are you."

The cultists looked in awe at the one who had destroyed their hopes and dreams. Glancing at each other, they dared one another to say something and make a move against this woman. Instead, they seemed to come to a group consensus that they didn't want to tangle with this warrior. Rushing in all directions, wasting no time in getting the hell out of there before she turned her attention towards them.

"Where the hell did she come from?" Dawn asked Spike, her eyebrows knitted in a curious expression. He only shrugged in response. The last they had seen her, she had been storming out of Dawn's apartment, intent on taking care of some business of hers. This must have been it, Dawn began to piece it together and grimaced as the head dripped some kind of greenish liquid.

Illyria dropped the oozing thing to the floor and stalked over to Dawn. Standing before her, Illyria spoke in reverence, "No one shall come near the Key again while I have conscious breath in this shell's form. You will be safe, now and forever." Without waiting for Dawn's reply, which was a good idea since she was still at a loss for words when it came to deal with this ex-god, Illyria turned to Spike, "How many points did I score from the death of that Roman?"

Spike paused to do some careful figuring in his head, coming up a rather random answer. "For killing that Roman ass, it raises your score to an even 200." Then, as their group started walking back home, Dawn heard him add a whispered, "But if you kill this Immortal fellow, the game is yours."

* * *

Other than the sounds of Illyria and the Immortal, who had begun retelling tales of their glory days once they realized they had both been divinities in the early, mucky days of the world, the walk home had been especially quiet. Dawn was okay now, nothing more to fear from the cult that wanted to spill her blood to prepare a feast for their god. And Buffy was beginning to feel like her old self, with just a bit of overcompensation for the days she'd been mentally absent by overmothering Dawn.

They'd be okay.

Spike was glad. They were the two most important humans in his world and they'd seen some really bad days. Both in Rome in the past few weeks and in Sunnydale, which had caved in around them just a few years ago. A part of him needed them to be happy, needed them to be safe but the other part, the one that watched them from a careful distance across the room, knew that if they were okay, then they didn't need him here. His job was done.

He put his coffee mug of warm blood down on the kitchen island, the simple subconscious barrier that stood between Buffy and him. Dawn watched him carefully from her seat at the island. He could tell she was doing the 'quietly watching but seeing everything' bit.

"Thanks for running by the butcher shop, luv," Spike paused awkwardly and turned away, towards his traveling companion. It was easier than looking at everything he was about to leave behind. "But me and Miss Blue have to be going. There's a ship that'll be taking us to Egypt in a few hours."

"Ever the masochist, Spike?" Buffy tried to smile and it came out a wrinkly sort of grin. He thought he saw a glimmer of regret in her eyes, followed by just a touch of hope. "You know, you could stay here? The sunny skies of Egypt could wait a while. You can't just fight and run, can you?"

"It's all I've ever done, luv, I don't know any other way." Spike said with the honesty only a poet could know. She was right though, he was running away, the ship could wait, there'd only be another one. Still, he couldn't fathom sticking around while Buffy and the Immortal figured out whether their relationship was salvageable. Quickly, he asked, "Illyria, ready?"

Illyria pulled her attention away from her conversation with the Immortal, coming to stand beside Spike. She cocked her head towards Dawn, "I have succeeded in my quest to behold the key in all it's infinite wisdom and glory. I am ready to travel onward now, refreshed by the knowledge that the form it has taken is once more preserved."

"Yep. What she said." Spike gave a tiny chuckle and began to take his exit.

"Spike?" Buffy called out to him, her voice a siren's sound whose spell he was trying to avoid falling under. He turned towards her again, pulled by his own selfish desire. Love's bitch, once more. "Is there some way I can get in touch with you?" She covered up her own need with excuses plenty, "I mean, in case there an upcoming apocalypse or something?"

"I'll send you a postcard," He promised. Trying to capture her beauty in his memory, he starred at her a moment and then walked out of her life again. It hurt too much to be there now, so close and yet unable to attain what they once had, he couldn't stay. He needed to start putting distance between them, so for once he followed his head instead of his unbeating heart.

* * *

It was raining the next time Spike saw her, on the shipping docks while Illyria and him waited for their transportation, only an hour since he'd left Dawn behind in that apartment. She was carrying an umbrella, the rain never touching her youthful features. Nevertheless, her cheeks were wet and the darkness of the rain clouds seemed to follow her.

"So, you thought you could just pull a 'Come back, Shane' and that would be it?" Dawn brushed her tears away before she neared the two of them. He'd never meant for her to get this hurt. Hell, part of the reason he was leaving was for her own good, didn't need a vampire in the mix mucking up things again.

He said nothing at first, only watched as Illyria studied the raindrops. There was little he could say to apologize for leaving her again, for walking away when they'd had so little time together. "Dawn.. I couldn't stay, not with Buffy and the Immortal wanting to try again, wanting to piece broken things together. Didn't want to be in the way, didn't want to see if they'd find a way."

"I understand. Everyone else may think of me as a little kid, even now, but I know how it feels when you love a person and they only have eyes for someone else." She sounded like she spoke from years of experience. "You could never see me while her shadow got in the way, I get that now. I don't blame you for walking away, but I wanted to know that you'd really keep in touch."

"I promised you a postcard, didn't I? One of those dopey ones with the touristy traps on them, with 'Wish you were here' scrawled on the back." Then he turned serious and added, "I just need some space, I'll be back."

"I'll be waiting."

It was another promise he swore he'd keep.

* * *

-

* * *

Written For the CYA Ficathon with this request:  
**Characters/Pairings you want the story to focus in**: Dawn/Spike friendship or romance  
**Characters/Pairings you want in the story too**: Illyria tagging along would be cool, kudos if you can pull it off.  
**Things you want**: Post-NFA, Spike and Dawn capturing their S5 friendship again, and Illyria scoring her some hot Roman ass  
**Things you don't want**: Dawn being a whiny brat  
**Extras**: Anything you desire


End file.
